2005 Dietary Guidelines | Science Based Nutrition

June 19, 2009

[Nutritional epidemiology and public health] Adherence to 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is associated with a reduced progression of coronary artery atherosclerosis in women with established coronary artery disease

Filed under: Main Content — Tags: 2005 Dietary Guidelines, 2005 Dietary Guidelines For Americans, Adherence Index, Angiography, Atherosclerotic Lesion, Chronic Disease Prevention, Coronary Arteries, Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis, Coronary Artery Disease, Dga, Dietary Recommendations, Disease Outcomes, Estrogen Replacement, food, Heart Disease, Mixed Model, Nutrition, Nutritional Epidemiology, Postmenopausal Women, Premise, Public Health, Regression Analyses, Science, science based nutrition — Imamura, F., Jacques, P. F, Herrington, D. M, Dallal, G. E, Lichtenstein, A. H @ 5:00 am

Background: A premise of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) is chronic disease prevention.

Objective: The goal was to determine whether a diet meeting the DGA is associated with less atherosclerotic lesion progression.

Design: We used the data from 224 postmenopausal women with established coronary artery disease enrolled in the Estrogen Replacement and Atherosclerosis Study. Atherosclerosis progression was defined by repeated measures of quantitative angiography over a 3-y period. Adherence to the key DGA recommendations was measured by using the DGA Adherence Index (DGAI; possible range: 0–20), with each component weighted equally, and the modified DGAI score (wDGAI; possible range: –0.19–0.51), with each component weighted based on its relation to atherosclerosis progression. Mixed-model regression analyses were performed to assess the association between diet and atherosclerosis progression.

Results: No women consumed a diet meeting all of the DGA recommendations. The mean (range) of the DGAI score was 14.1 (8.0–19.0). DGAI was not associated with atherosclerosis progression (P = 0.44), whereas wDGAI was inversely associated; a 1-SD difference in wDGAI was related to 0.049-mm less narrowing of the coronary arteries (SE = 0.017, P = 0.004).

Conclusions: In postmenopausal women with established heart disease, under the assumption that all DGA recommendations are similarly effective, overall adherence was not associated with atherosclerosis progression. However, assigning differential weights to the DGA recommendations, the adherence was significantly associated with slower atherosclerosis progression. Assuming equity of associations between all dietary recommendations and disease outcomes is a limitation in accurately examining the effectiveness of the DGA.

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January 31, 2009

Results Of The Third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study

Filed under: Main Content — Tags: 2005 Dietary Guidelines, Assessment Study, Beverages, Competitive Foods, Desserts, Dietary Assessment, Donuts, Energy Dense Foods, French Fries, Fruit Juice, Muffins, National School Lunch, National School Lunch Program, Salty Snacks, School Lunch Program, School Nutrition, Sodium, Study Researchers, Sweet Rolls, Toaster Pastries — Science Based Nutrition @ 10:00 pm

Researchers have analyzed nutrition provided through the National School Lunch Program. A commentary on the findings notes that few schools provided lunches that met the recommendations in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for fiber and none of the schools met the recommended sodium limitations. Also, the availability of competitive foods in public schools that are generally low-nutrient, energy-dense foods, including candy, desserts, salty snacks, french fries, muffins, donuts, sweet rolls, toaster pastries and caloric beverages other than milk or 100% fruit juice affect what students eat.

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February 7, 2012

[Vegetarian diet and plant-based dietary pattern] Food, plant food, and vegetarian diets in the US dietary guidelines: conclusions of an expert panel

Filed under: Main Content — Tags: 2005 Dietary Guidelines, Adequate Diet, Deficiency States, Dietary Pattern, Dietary Reference Intakes, Evidence Base, Expert Panel, Fifth International Congress, Food Consumption, Food Plant, Future Food, Health Effects, Lifestyle Diets, Plant Food, Related Materials, Science Base, Vegetarian Diet, Vegetarian Diets, Vegetarian Nutrition, Vegetarianism — Science Based Nutrition @ 4:35 pm

We summarize conclusions drawn from a panel discussion at the "Fifth International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition" about the roles of and emphasis on food, plant food, and vegetarianism in current and future US dietary guidelines. The most general recommendation of the panel was that future dietary guidelines, following the lead of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, should emphasize food-based recommendations and thinking to the full extent that evidence allows. Although nutrient-based thinking and Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) may help ensure an adequate diet in the sense that deficiency states are avoided, the emphasis on DRIs may not capture many important nutritional issues and may inhibit a focus on foods. More generally, in the context of the conference on vegetarian nutrition, this report focuses on the history and structure of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, on various plant food–oriented recommendations that are supported by literature evidence, and on mechanisms for participating in the process of forming dietary guidelines. Among recommendations that likely would improve health and the environment, some are oriented toward increased plant food consumption and some toward vegetarianism. The literature on health effects of individual foods and whole lifestyle diets is insufficient and justifies a call for future food-oriented research, including expanding the evidence base for plant-based and vegetarian diets. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's role should be carried forward to creation of a publicly accessible icon (eg, the current pyramid) and related materials to ensure that the science base is fully translated for the public.

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The Smart Choices front-of-package nutrition labeling program: rationale and development of the nutrition criteria [Supplement: The Science behind Current Nutrition Profiling Systems to Promote Consumer Intake of Nutrient-dense Foods]

Filed under: Main Content — Tags: 2005 Dietary Guidelines, Balanced Diets, Beneficial Foods, Consensus Solutions, Consumer Confusion, Food Choices, Food Groups, Food Manufacturers, Government Organizations, Keystone Center, Nutrient Dense Foods, Nutrients, Nutrition Educators, Observers, Product Category, Program Rationale, Public Health Organizations, Rationales, Scp, Smart Choices — Lupton, J. R, Balentine, D. A, Black, R. M, Hildwine, R., Ivens, B. J, Kennedy, E. T, Packard, P. T, Sperber, B. R, Steffen, D., Story, M. @ 4:35 pm

The goal of the Smart Choices Program (SCP) is to provide a simple front-of-the-package icon system to direct consumers to smarter food choices in the supermarket, which will eventually lead to more balanced diets and to more beneficial foods as food manufacturers renovate products to meet the nutrition criteria for carrying the icon. The SCP was developed by a coalition of scientists and nutrition educators, experts with experience with dietary guidelines, public health organizations, and food manufacturers in response to consumer confusion over multiple front-of-the-package systems based on different criteria. Representatives from different government organizations acted as observers. The process of developing the program was facilitated by the nonprofit Keystone Center, an organization that develops consensus solutions to complex health and social policy changes. The nutrition criteria for receiving the SCP icon are specific for product category by indicating "smarter" products within that category. A calorie indicator noting calories per serving and servings per package accompanies the SCP icon to remind consumers that calories do count, even for smarter food choices. For a product to qualify, it first has to be below the threshold for "nutrients to limit" and then (in most cases) it must be above the threshold for one or more nutrients or food groups to encourage. The criteria are based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and other consensus science and are transparent and available on the SCP website. This article describes the nutrition criteria and rationales for their selection.

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